Meet Irfan Zeb, MD
We asked the recent Future Leaders Program graduate to tell us about himself. Here’s what we learned.

Irfan Zeb, MD, entered the SCCT Future Leaders Program with the assignment to create and execute one or two projects that help the Society push forward its mission. 

Dr. Zeb graduated from the program completing not one or two but four projects. 
 
His ambitious attitude and openness to mentorship led him to publish his research, "Multimodality assessment of high- vs. low-gradient aortic stenosis using echocardiography and cardiac CT" in the Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (JCCT) in October 2023.

"I am really appreciative of the opportunity to be part of the FLP," Dr. Zeb said. "I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Jonathon Leipsic. He helped me a lot in completing my research project. I was able to establish new research links through this project."
 
He is an engaged member of the SCCT Health Policy and Practice Committee (formerly the Advocacy Committee) and as part of his service, led the SCCT Evidence Dossier Working Group, which produced four evidence dossiers on CCTA, CACS, the use of CCT in SHD and FFR-CT. The evidence dossiers are available on the SCCT website.
 
The Health Policy and Practice Committee named Dr. Zeb as SCCT's alternate representative to the AMA House of Delegates, serving with Kanai Mukai, MD, FSCCT. 
 
The biggest impact on his program experience, he said, is learning about the importance of advocating for fair reimbursement of cardiovascular CT services through his time serving on the Health Policy and Practice Committee – exposure Dr. Zeb believes every future leader of the SCCT should have, to better understand its mechanics.

"The work that is being done in the [Health Policy and Practice] committee is quite important," he said. "The committee has been working on expanding insurance coverage for cardiac CTA, improving reimbursement rates and promoting evidence-based approaches to imaging."

He explained that they are actively engaged with the CMS, insurance providers and congress members to achieve these goals. "This involves a lot of technical details that members should be aware of when dealing with such things." 

Learn how to get involved in SCCT advocacy efforts >>